Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Heermandi: The Diamond Bazaar released on Netflix on May 1. The web series stars an ensemble of actors which includes Sonakshi Sinha, Manisha Koirala, Richa Chadha, Sharmin Segal, Aditi Rao Hydari and Fardeen Khan. In an interview with IMDB, the stars of the series opened up about their experience working on the series. Fardeen revealed how Bhansali had his assistants sent him an army of dogs to calm him down during the shoot.

What Fardeen said

During the conversation, Fardeen said, “Whenever he was getting flustered, or wasn't getting what he wanted, or he was frustrated about something… To calm him down, the assistant directors would send these 25 dogs that Mr. Bhansali has, on the sets of Heeramandi and the minute they went on to set, he used to be calm.”

Richa and Sharmin's banter

When the cast was asked if there was any hidden talent that they would like to get mentioned, Sharmin Segal said the quality of a chef. Richa looked surprised, and Sharmin persisted on, saying: “I am a really good cook! What do you mean? That salad I was eating today in the morning, I made!” Richa then joked and said she basically chopped vegetables. To which Sharmin replied they were cut by the cook but she made the dressing. Richa then joked that she should not sit next to Sharmin from now on.

Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar explores the cultural reality of Heeramandi, a dazzling district, through the stories of courtesans and their patrons set against the tumultuous backdrop of the Indian freedom struggle of the 1940s. It released on Netflix on May 1.

An excerpt from the Hindustan Times review of the film read, “The plot has the spice of a saas-bahu opera, but with the finishing of a taut prestige drama. And the tone works wonders – through the kotha politics, Bhansali achieves a dual goal – of saucing up a lavish feast and drawing an analogy to India's freedom struggle. Divide and rule wasn't always the British's ammunition – like the tawaifs, Indians were too busy with their historical, intergenerational infighting to rise above their vested interests for a macro mutiny.”

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